Adventist Hinsdale Hospital first in state to use blood clot removal system

Chris LaFortune, Community Contributor

Hinsdale – Thanks to a cooperative effort among doctors, Adventist Hinsdale Hospital is the first hospital in Illinois to successfully complete a blood clot removal using the Angiovac®.

Dr. Luke Sewall completed the intricate removal of a blood clot few other hospitals in Illinois would attempt to remove with the Angiovac.

“It was exceedingly extensive, and not treated in many places,” Sewall said. “Most places would leave this patient with swollen, incapacitated legs, leaving the patient unable to work for the rest of her life. There are no surgical options.”

The patient had clotting in both of her legs. The clot ran all the way up her main vein into her stomach, just a few inches below her heart, Sewall said.

Sewall said attempts to dissolve the clots with medication were made, though there was a risk of bleeding. Rather than continue that route, Sewall said the Angiovac was decided upon.

The patient was transferred from Adventist La Grange Memorial to Adventist Hinsdale Hospital for the procedure, since it required the use of a centrifugal bypass pump, which the Hinsdale hospital had.

The Angiovac system works much as a vacuum might, Sewall said. A line is run up to a clot, and another return line is run into a healthy vein in the patient. While the bypass pump works, a filter in the Angiovac line catches and holds the clot, while the patient’s blood is recirculated through the body.

The patient will require blood thinners from now on to ensure she remains clot free, Sewall said. And he is seeing another patient soon to determine if they are a candidate for the Angiovac approach.

Some people experiencing certain blood clots have to endure leg swelling and pain while walking around, without much of a choice for removal, Sewall said. In this particular case, the patient had to keep her leg elevated just to avoid otherwise tremendous pain.

The Angiovac could give doctors an option to remove clots where they otherwise had none.

“We frequently have been asked to see people who have had a vein clotted for as much as a year,” Sewall said. “Other than stenting it out of the way, we haven’t had a good solution for that. Now we’ll see how this works for an older clot.”

Brought in to consult during the procedure were Dr. Aswath Subram and Dr. Mini Sivadasan with Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgical Associates, S.C., a group which recently joined the Adventist Heart and Vascular Institute.